Nicola Smith

Associate

Nicola is an Associate in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team based in Manchester. Nicola has over 12 years litigation experience dealing with a variety of matters including: - debt recovery, contract disputes, professional negligence claims, enforcement proceedings, and director, partnership and shareholder disputes. In the last 6 years, Nicola has developed a specialism in Contentious Trusts and Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims. In 2020 Nicola qualified as an associate member of the Association of Contentious Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) which is a well-regarded organisation in the specialist field of contentious trust and probate work. Nicola helps individuals recover money/assets from family members estates in circumstances where they may have been excluded from a Will or there are suspicious circumstances relating to the creation and execution of a Will. Nicola is committed to practising those things that constitute good service from a client’s perspective: • She is accessible and responsive. • She actively pushes the case forward and keeps her clients updated. • She sticks to agreed deadlines and timings and does things within a reasonable timescale. Nicola regularly acts for Beneficiaries / Executors / Claimants / Defendants / Trustees or 3rd parties (relatives /close friends) in wide variety of disputes including advising on challenges to the validity of a Will, administration disputes, and claims against an estate for reasonable financial provision, where no provision has been made under a Will.